Bosses of one of Burton's biggest food banks say delayed payments of Universal Credit to claimants is among the issues that have seen demand for food parcels rocket.

The YMCA in Burton has seen more than 1,300 people, including families with young children, pick up vital food parcels in just seven months.

This is a huge jump when compared to the same period last year, when just 1,533 parcels were handed in the entire year.

A 67 per cent increase in demand was seen in the month of July alone, when compared to 2018.

Cases dealt with by the YMCA included that of a 91-year-old person who needed a food parcel and many more families during the school holidays as children are not able to get their usual dinner at school.

Many families do not have enough food to go around, said a spokesman for the charity.

Universal Credit sees six benefits rolled into one payment, but the system has faced much criticism from some quarters as it has seen some people left without money as they switch to the new monthly system, having previous generally been paid weekly.

He said: "Universal Credit, it's stuff like that; people being sanctioned. Obviously we've changed to Universal Credit in this area, we know and it's out there across the whole nation that it can take so long for payments to come in.

"There's also a lot of manufacturing work, people on zero-hours contracts, one month they might have enough hours, the next month they may struggle.

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"We see stuff like that, that's a single crisis but doesn't tend to continue and we deal with it."

A spokesman from the Department for Work and Pensions described Universal Credit as a "force for good".

They said: "The reasons people use food banks are complex.

"Universal Credit is a force for good, with 2.2 million people now being supported by the benefit.

"People can get their first payment on day one of their claim as an advance, budgeting advice is available and we continue to make improvements."

Mr Horsnail added that if the current struggles continue then the charity may have to review how many food parcels it can give out, and how much food is in each - supplies are becoming so scarce.

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He said: "We are finding that we are struggling to keep this vital service going.

"If we continue in this vain, we will not be able to give out as many as what is needed. We would have to look at the quantity of food that goes into a parcel, we would have to look at whether we can help everyone.

"We don't want to get that stage. We're trying to go through all other options but a 42 per cent increase, year on year, is a worry.

"It isn't down to one thing, it's an accumulation of many."

People can only claim four food parcels from the YMCA in Burton each year, which are designed to feed a family of four for four days.

Whenever somebody comes to claim one, they are offered guidance and signposting on how they can best rectify the issue they are facing.

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Mr Horsnail added that an influx of claimants have been seen across the school holidays, with youngsters unable to claim free school meals during the six weeks Summer period.

He added: "We've seen a bit of an influx with it being kid's holidays, who would normally receive free school dinners.

"That's why we need this support from anybody now.

"People are living so close to the edge in terms of their finances and income, people do get in a crisis so easily."

Families and individuals who have sought help

The Burton YMCA has supplied Burton Live with some case study examples of people who have visited their food bank in search for help.

A person came asking for a food parcel. They had been working but then lost their hours. They were actively looking for more work but in the meantime, needed help. They didn't want to use the food bank and felt embarrassed at having to do so. We listened, told them not to worry, gave out a food parcel and said if they needed more help to come back.

A person came into the food bank for help after they had recently been through a marriage breakdown and unfortunately also lost their job - in fact they had lost absolutely everything. They were trying to get back on their feet but were finding it very difficult. A new benefits claim had been put in, but in the meantime they had no money to buy food. The Job Centre directed them to the YMCA, where staff also offered a listening ear as well as a food parcel.

A social worker came in to collect a food parcel for one of his clients who was 91 years old. They had come home from hospital and had nothing. The YMCA handed over a parcel which also contained fresh bread and cobs and told social worker to come back again if his client continued to struggle. The social worker was very grateful and thankful on his client's behalf.

An elderly person came in for a food parcel. Although in receipt of state pension were struggling to manage on this income and had been suffering with ill health. They had never visited a food bank before, we listened, gave out a food parcel and some fresh bread. They were very thankful for our help.

How you can help

The food bank has a list of goods that they require to fill their shelves.

This includes UTC milk, in 500ml or 1 litre cartons, coffee, sugar and cereal.

Tinned goods are also an essential need, including full meals like Irish stew, chilli, curry and spaghetti bolognaise.

Tinned corned beef, ham and vegetables like carrots, peas and sweetcorn, as well as fish.

To donate through a school, work or as an individual, you can call the Reconnect Centre on 01283 547211. Goods can be dropped off a the centre, or at a food collection point at Asda or Sainsbury's in Burton.